←Recommendations of Mere Waters

Jillian Blevins writes urgent stories that need to be told and brought into the light. MERE WATERS is amazing in that regard and also special on several levels, starting with the inspiration of Gisella Perl's real-life and memoir about her time in Auschwitz. Hers is a heartbreaking story but also filled with glimmers of hope that the playwright cultivates and carefully expresses throughout. The characters of the Prophetesses are also expertly written here, providing comfort and wisdom for both characters and audience. This is a play that deserves all of its accolades and is not to be missed.

“We hear a rush of water—a waterfall, an ocean, a surging river. It is the sound of the WOMAN’s life.”

In the midst of some truly dark horror, this stage direction breaks forth like a beautiful beam of light.

Stark, brutal, but ultimately hopeful, MERE WATERS is about the impossible choices and risks one woman takes in order to not just ensure her survival of Auschwitz, but other women as well.

Theatrically and visually rich and ritualistic, it is not an easy play to read or sit through. Good! More plays should be as uncompromising as this.

Tikkun olam, “repair the world.” Even under (or because of) the most horrific and despicable conditions, Dr. Gisella Perl is called on to summon her strength and skills to save others and thereby save herself. Jillian Blevins has written a brutally honest play that in spite of the horrors is also, beautiful, spiritual, and hopeful. MERE WATERS may be set in the past, but its relevance to current events can’t be denied. A brilliant and important work.

Chilling. And yet Blevins weaves in "relief, beauty, and hope" in this visceral and moving piece. History (and especially her-story) has to be told and revisited no matter how difficult. We must face it alongside these women who are facing it over and over again throughout the ages. Loved the historical allusions, poetry and use of Hebrew--which I'd love to be able to hear recited. Brava, playwright!

This theatrical, extremely moving play centers Dr. Gisella Perl, a gynecologist imprisoned in a concentration camp. Forced by her guard to identify pregnant women, Gisella does so, believing they'll be sent somewhere better--until she discovers that the only way to save their lives is by performing abortions. Through wonderfully spare dialogue Blevins skillfully evokes the horrific camp conditions, but the play is also about survival and women helping women. Though it has a period setting the play feels deeply connected to today's frightening abortion bans and rising antisemitism, making it feel both timely and urgent. Highly recommend.

This play is breathtaking, thought-provoking, and timely. I appreciate the surgical precision Jillian Blevins has taken to illustrate a uniquely Jewish and uniquely woman-centric story that transcends time, gender, and religion to the reader to empathize with the complicated place Dr. Gisella Perl finds herself in throughout the play. I love the way the play ends, too--with that little glimmer of hope at the end of a dark tunnel. This is the second piece by Jillian Blevins I've had the pleasure of reading and I have to say, this writer has an incredible range.

Oh my gosh, what a beautiful play. It shows better than a lecture ever could how abortion is pro-life, how we wish we lived in a black and white world, but we exist in a series of grays and have to do what we can, where we are, with what we have to make things better. And every time the horrors of Gisella's situation become too much to bear, the Prophetesses come in and assure us that everything will be okay in the end. We could sure use them today. What a fabulous piece.

While of course there is nothing that can compare to the Holocaust, the moving, haunting, depressing and yet hopeful piece that is MERE WATERS serves, in my mind, partially as a showcase of the cruelty of abortion bans in the US and growing anti-abortion sentiment elsewhere such as in the UK. When I was in college, anti-choice activists compared abortion to the Holocaust. I think they would do well to see this, to grasp the horrors and difficult choices thrown at Gisella, and to witness all the lives she helped and saved. May all who suffer find some small hopes.

I was apprehensive to read this play given the subject matter, but I actually found it edifying and full of hope. While its topic is difficult, Blevins is merciful with her inclusion of the Prophetesses, who bring a bit of lightness. All five roles are well-drawn and would be satisfying and challenging for any actor to play. This is especially true of The Woman, who represents many different characters. The play’s set is fittingly stark - and therefore easy to produce - but Blevins still manages to deliver wonderful opportunities for theatricality. A well done, fast-moving script. Definitely recommend.

I've had to take the weekend to digest this play in my brain which is exactly what you want from thought-provoking theatre. Jillian Blevins' MERE WATERS focuses on triumph and defeat. Blevins writes rich dialogue as well as three-dimensional characters that make the craftsmanship of this play truly breathtaking. MERE WATERS is a perfect example of having a great use of theatricality and is held together with a deep emotional core.